Onondaga man sentenced to prison in 4th DWI

An Onondaga man who killed four people in a 1981 head-on crash will spend up to four years in prison for his fourth alcohol-related drinking-and-driving conviction since then.

Onondaga County Court Judge Joseph Fahey sentenced Robert Madison, 46, of Young Road, to 1 1/3 to four years in prison plus a $5,000 fine today. Madison was convicted of driving while intoxicated, driving with a blood alcohol count of more than 0.08 and driving with insufficient lights in an April 9 incident.

An emotional Madison couldn't finish reading his statement before sentencing. His attorney, James Chatwin, continued reading the request for a chance to prove to the court and the community that he'd changed.

Fahey refused the request, giving the maximum sentence.

Madison was convicted of a misdemeanor DWI conviction in 1985 and felony DWI in 1992 and 1997. Though he was not charged with DWI in the fatal 1981 crash, he had been drinking before the crash. He was convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the 1981 crash, when he drove across the centerline on West Seneca Turnpike near Onondaga Community College and crashed head-on into an oncoming car, killing all four people inside. The crash was attributed to Madison having narcolepsy.